Churn-timer



8.1. VAN KUREN.

CHURN TIMER. APPLICATION FILED MAY 31, I919- Patented Mar. 15, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN J. VAN KUREN, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, ASSIGNOR T J. G. CHERRY COMPANY, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

CHURN-TIMER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 15, 1921.

Application filed May 31, 1919. Serial No. 300,902.

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN J. VAN KUREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cedar Rapids, in the county of Linn and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Churn- Timers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to timing devices and it is especially designed and adapted for use in connection with churns to give a signal which will indicate to the operator when the butter working process is completed.

It is customary for the operator to time the butter working process by the revolutions of the churn drum, which operates at a comparatively low rate of speed, say about six revolutions per minute, when working butter.

v The object of this invention is to provide atiming device which can be set to give a signal after a predetermined number of revolutions of the drum so that the operator may be occupied in other duties during the butter working process, knowing that he will receive ample warning from the timing device as the working process approaches completion.

The object of the invention is to provide a timing device without delicate or complicated parts but having a strong and sub stantial construction suitable for the conditions under which a butter working process must necessarily be conducted with the working parts disposed in convenient position for any attention they may require.

In the accompanying drawings Figure '1 is a top view;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation, and

Fig. 3 is a side view of a timing device embodying the invention.

The device comprises a rock shaft t mounted in bearings 5 in a suitable support 6. A rocker 7 rigidly secured on the rock shaft carries a feed pawl 8 which is 7 adapted to engage the teeth peripherally disposed on the face of a dial plate 9 revolubly secured by a bolt 10 to the support. A spring 11 on the bolt 10 is interposed between the dial plate and the arm 6' of the support to hold the dial plate in place. A

' spring 12 is arranged between a lug 13 on the rocker 7 and the support to normally hold the rocker and the feed pawl in elevated position and to return the parts to this position after each feeding operation. A spring 14 is connected to a lug 15 on the feed pawl and to a lug 16 on the rocker to hold the pawl 17 in operative relation to the dial plate. A holding pawl 17 is pivotally mounted on the arm 6 of the support and is held in operative engagement with the dial plate by a spring 18. A tripper 19 of any suitable construction is rigidly mounted on one or the other end of the rock shaft and its outer free end is arranged to be engaged and operated by some moving ber 28 of the bell to sound an alarm. This bell may be of any suitable type but I prefer to provide a continuous ringing bell and to make the cam of such length that it will engage the bell-operating member and continue to sound an alarm during a. plurality of revolutions of the churn so that ample warning of the completion of the butter working process will be given.

In practice the device is mounted on the leg or standard of a churn at either end thereof, or in any suitable position where the tripper 19 is adapted to be engaged and operated by a cam or other suitable device on the revolving drum of the churn. The operator will set the dial plate by turning it clockwise until the tooth representing the predetermined number of revolutions de sired is disposed opposite the pointer 20.

Then the churn is placed in operation and 1 each time the tripper 19 is tripped the feed pawl will advance the dial plate the distance of a tooth and the holding pawl will hold it in this position. The spring 11 exerts sufficient tension on the dial plate to 105 prevent it from turning freely and yet per member and Jreferabl durin several revolutions of the churn so that the operator will have ample opportunity to leave any other work upon which he may be engaged to resume his attention to the churn.

hen it is desired to render the device inoperative for any reason the shaft may be 7 rocked to the limit of its movement, or at least until the tripper is'out of operative position, and the hook Q L'engaged with the lug 25 on the rocker 7 to hold the parts in this posititon. While the invention is parti cularly intended for use in connection with churns for timing the butter working process itcan obviously be employed for many other purposes which will be readily suggested to those skilled in the art.

I have shown the device in full lines as constructed for a right hand churn, in which the operating devices are located at the right end of the churn. To apply the device to a left hand churn, in which the operating devices are located at the left end of the churn, it is only necessary to remove the tripper 19 and apply to the other end of the shaft a similarly constructed tripper 19 as shown in dotted lines.

My lmproved device is strong and substantial 1n constructlon, 1t has no delicate or complicated mechanism which would soon become corroded and disordered under the stead of mounting the device on a fixed part to be operated by a moving part on the drum of the churn the device may be mounted on the drum of the churn to be revolved therewith and the tripper arranged to engage a fixed part, if desired.

1 am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and in the details of construction of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof, and I therefore reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope'of the appended claims. For example, it is apparent that the cam 22 may be employed to close an electric circuit which will ring a bell or a buzzer, or flash alight, and produce any other kind of a sound or signal suitable for the purpose, it being necessary only to provide a member which will. be actuated by the cam for this purpose.

I claim:

A timing device of the character described comprising a support,'a toothed dial plate revolubly mounted on the support, means for advancingthe dial plate a tooth at a time, a signal device capable of prolonged operation and a cam on the dial plate for imparting a prolonged operation to said signal. device. 7

2. A timing device of the'character described comprising a support, a dial plate revolubly mounted on the support, and having teeth peripherally disposed on its face, a feed pawl overhanging the face of said dial plate to engage the teeth and advance the plate a tooth at a, time, a holding pawl to prevent reverse movement of the dial plate, means for operating said feed pawl, a signal device capable of prolonged operation, and a cam on the face of the dial plate for imparting a prolonged operation to said signal device.

3. A timing device of the character described comprising a support, a rock shaft, a tripper on the shaft adapted to be actuated to rock said shaft, a toothed dial plate revolubly mounted on the support, a rocker on said shaft, a feed pawl pivotally mounted on said rocker and adapted to engage said dial plate to revolve the same a tooth at a time, a signal device,'capable of prolonged operation, and a cam on the face of the dial plate for imparting a prolonged operation to said signal device. 7

4. A timing device of the character described comprising a support, a rock shaft journaledin the support, a tripper on the shaft adapted to be actuated to rock said shaft, a rocker on said shaft, a toothed dial plate revolubly mounted on the support, a feed pawl pivotally and yieldingly mounted on the rocker and adapted to advance said dialplate a tooth at a time, a holding pawl to prevent reverse movement of the dial plate, a bell, capable of prolonged operation, an operating member for the bell, and a cam on the dial plate to impart a prolonged operation to said member.

5. A timing device of the character described comprising a support, a rock shaft journaled in hearings in the support, a tripper on the shaft adapted to be actuated to rock said shaft, a rocker rigid on the shaft, a spring for holding said rocker normally in elevated position, a toothed dial plate revolubly mounted on the support, a springpressed feed pawl pivotally mounted on the rocker and arranged to engage and advance the dial plate a tooth at a time, a signal bell mounted onthe support and capable of prolonged operation, an operating member for said bell, a cam on the face of the dial plate for imparting a prolonged operation to said actuating member, and a spring bearing on I the dial plate to restrain the movement thereof. I

6. A timing device of the character described comprising a support, a rock shaft journaled in bearings in the support, a tripper on said rock shaft adapted to be operated to rock the shaft, a rocker on said shaft, a toothed dial plate revolubly mounted on the support, a feed pawl on said rocker to advance the dial plate a tooth at a time, a signal device, capable of prolonged operation, a cam on the dial plate for imparting a prolonged operation to said signal device, a lug on the rocker, and a hook on the support adapted to be engaged with said 10 lug to hold said tripper out of operative position.

STEPHEN J. VAN KUREN. Witnesses:

W. R. MCEWEN, E. KLOMMON. 

